About Me

I am a lawyer in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada who enjoys reading, especially mysteries. Since 2000 I have been writing personal book reviews. This blog includes my reviews, information on and interviews with authors and descriptions of mystery bookstores I have visited. I strive to review all Saskatchewan mysteries. Other Canadian mysteries are listed under the Rest of Canada. As a lawyer I am always interested in legal mysteries. I have a separate page for legal mysteries. Occasionally my reviews of legal mysteries comment on the legal reality of the mystery. You can follow the progression of my favourite authors with up to 15 reviews. Each year I select my favourites in "Bill's Best of ----". As well as current reviews I am posting reviews from 2000 to 2011. Below my most recent couple of posts are the posts of Saskatchewan mysteries I have reviewed alphabetically by author. If you only want a sentence or two description of the book and my recommendation when deciding whether to read the book look at the bold portion of the review. If you would like to email me the link to my email is on the profile page.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Hostage by Kristina Ohlsson translated by Marlaine Delargy

(1.
– 843.) Hostage by Kristina Ohlsson translated by Marlaine Delargy –
Fredrika Bergman has returned to Sweden after a year in New York on maternity
leave following the birth of her second child. She has not gone back to working
for the police but is employed as an analyst for the Department of Justice.

Her
former boss at the police, Alex Recht, continues to regret her departure and
wishes she were still working with him.

Eden
Lundell is the head of the counterterrorism unit of Säpo (the Swedish
Secret Service). The tall striking Nordic beauty is wrestling with the issue of
Zakaria Khelifi, an Algerian refugee, who has been acquitted of planning to
commit an act of terrorism. In the same trial two other men from North Africa
had been convicted of plotting a major attack on the Swedish Parliament.

Though
acquitted Säpo believes that Khelifi was a collaborator with those convicted and
has had contact with other European terrorists. Säpo is recommending to the
government that his residency permit be revoked and that he be deported. Säpo’s
submissions are accepted and Khelifi is taken into custody.

The next morning an SAS leaves from Stockholm on a flight to New York
City. Shortly after departure a shaken flight attendant delivers a note to the
pilots found in the toilet for first class passengers.

The note says the plane will be blown up unless the United States
government closes Tennyson Cottage and the Swedish government revokes its
decision to deport Khelifi. The pilots are to keep flying the plane and not
land it until the demands have been met. The governments are given the time
provided by the fuel aboard the plane to comply with the demands.

The lead pilot is Karim Sassi and the co-pilot is Erik Recht. Erik is
Alex’s son.

Agents and officials in numerous departments and agencies of each
government are called on to assess the threat and work on a response.

Sassi refuses to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport fearing
for the safety of the passengers if he deviates from the instructions in the
note. In the air the main pilot holds the power to decide what is the safest
decision for the passengers and crew.

It is swiftly determined that Tennyson Cottage was a secret American
detention and interrogation facility in Afghanistan.

Swedish investigators can find no connection between Khelifi and Tennyson
Cottage.

American intelligence agencies are reluctant to share any information
though there are over 100 Americans on the plane.

Tension gradually builds as the plane sails over the Atlantic.

Frustrations build in Sweden as investigators cannot find a reason why
these two apparently separate demands were made of different governments.

Both governments proceed on the basis that the demands will not be
honoured. In the world of the 21st Century governments will no
longer meet terrorist demands. Innocent lives may be shed but they are not
willing to create a precedent for future terrorists to exploit. In any event,
in Hostage there is no one with whom
the demands can even be discussed.

With no way to determine if there is a bomb on the plane the security and
police organizations must reach a decision on how likely it is that an
explosive is aboard.

The investigation is focused in Sweden where the flight originated and
investigators can seek out information on Khelifi.

As the moment of decision approaches the tension becomes acute.

There are clever twists in the plot. Overall Ohlsson does well at
creating a thriller which is a form of locked room mystery. No one can gain
access to the plane during flight.

The format is the opposite to the painstaking, often leisurely,
investigations of Napoleon “Bony” Bonaparte in the mysteries of Arthur Upfield.
The whole plot of Hostage takes place
over 48 hours.

I
come late with this book being my first in the series featuring Bergman. Hostage is the 4th book of
the series. In Hostage I found
Bergman’s role was under-stated. It was interesting to see the lead character
not dominate the book.

I found Hostage a very good
thriller. There were some decisions that did not add up to me. On the other
hand the ending was a real surprise and would never be in a major American
thriller.

Hostage could be a strong movie. Hollywood has made several major movies
involving terrorist threats to airplanes but even Hollywood would struggle to
make Hostage into a movie for Bruce
Willis to extend the Die Hard series.

2 comments:

I'm glad you enjoyed this one, Bill. You're now the third person I trust to tell me that this was a good thriller. And it is a very interesting premise. Even with a few implausibilities, a thriller can still be a good roller coaster ride.